Social and Economic Justice

Reducing Women’s Economic Dependence

Following a long struggle by NIF grantee Itach-Maki (Women Lawyers for Social Justice), the ministerial committee passed a law which will reduce women’s financial reliance on their husbands.

According to the law, which was promoted by MKs Dr. Aliza Lavie (Yesh Atid) and Dov Khenin (Hadash), social welfare payments will now be transferred to a couple’s shared account instead of to the man’s account. The hope is that this will increase the economic independence of vulnerable women, and will be particularly vital in the case of abusive relationships.

Itach-Maki Director Keren Shemesh-Perlmutter said: “Economic violence against women is a major problem that hasn’t been sufficiently confronted on a legal level. This change creates a precedent, and we hope that in the coming years there will be more advances in the field.”

Itach-Maki aims to create social change by using the law to address the needs and rights of women from the social, economic, and geographic periphery of Israel.